Ruth Challis, 18, and Rosy Cooper, 19, spent six months getting together the money to pay for a personal appearance - and the soap star was touched

Be my guest: Brooke with Ruth and Rosy at the dinner the girls will now dine out on

Two starstruck Coronation Street
fans scrimped to save £2,000 for their ultimate birthday treat – dinner out with Brooke Vincent.

Ruth Challis, 18, and Rosy Cooper, 19, spent six months getting together the money to pay for a personal appearance from their favourite actress.

They booked her to join them for a chicken meal at Nando’s in Manchester – and their birthday celebration turned out to be all they had dreamed of. And much more.

Brooke, 22, was so touched by her fans’ devotion – and the story of how they had saved their wages from part-time jobs at fast-food outlets – she later refunded the fee for her attendance.

The soap star had arrived at the restaurant expecting to be guest of honour at large event, but was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be just the two pals, who had travelled to Manchester from their homes in Coventry.

A friend of the girls said: “They think Brooke is a great actor and they really wanted to meet her. As crazy as it sounds, they saved their wages from their part-time jobs until they had enough cash to book her for a personal appearance.

"They just saved and saved for six months. They worked out they worked 800 hours between them to save the money. They did it as a birthday treat for themselves. Rosy was 19 in June and it’s Ruth’s 19th next week, so they decided to go for it.”

The girls booked the star – who plays lesbian Sophie Webster in Corrie – through an online agency and arranged to meet her at the Nando’s in Spinningfields in Manchester city centre.

Alamy

Special treat: the girls met at a Nando’s diner

The pal said: “Brooke does quite a few of these PAs so she arrived expecting there to be a large party or some sort of corporate bash. All she knew was that she was meeting someone called Rosy.

"But when she got there it was just the two girls. She took it in her stride and they had a nice meal together.

"The three of them just sat and chatted like a group of pals. It was a really nice evening.”

When the bill came, they split it three ways. Since then, the girls have exchanged messages on Twitter, with Brooke writing: “Had the pleasure of meeting these two beautiful young ladies. Thank you for a lovely day. Happy Birthday.”

As part of their birthday weekend Ruth and Rosy also booked themselves into the five-star Lowry Hotel and took the Coronation Street tour at the former Granada studios.